Enforcing smoking ban costs counties

TOLEDO -- County health departments are running up steep bills in their efforts to stamp out smoking across Ohio.

TOLEDO -- County health departments are running up steep bills in their efforts to stamp out smoking across Ohio.

A year after the state's smoking ban went into effect, some county health departments have found enforcement to be too costly, with at least a dozen local entities turning over inspection and violation duties to the Ohio Department of Health.

Under the law that went into effect in May, local health departments receive 90 percent of fines collected from businesses and individuals. The fines range from $100 to $2,500 and were intended to fund enforcement, but the state has collected only $30,000.

That amount falls far short of easing the financial burden placed on local departments, officials said. The Toledo-Lucas County health department alone has spent $40,000 hunting down violators, while banking only $630 in fines. Costs stem from overtime, mileage and other expenses.

"It is a (financial) concern, and we've voiced that concern to the state," said Alan Ruffell, the county's director of environmental health.

Counties struggling to enforce the ban can choose to turn over enforcement to the state with 30 days' notice, said Ohio Department of Health spokesman Kristopher Weiss. But state health officials are working with local departments to make the process less costly, he said.